VA - Twenty Years Away (2020)

So here we are. Twenty years of n5MD! It seems like it was just yesterday I was unwrapping that pallet of MD1 MiniDiscs with the zeal of a child opening gifts at Christmas. To celebrate this milestone, I reached out to our current roster and alumni to participate in a compilation. What transpired is that nearly everyone asked handed in a track. What I thought would be a simple little compilation unwillingly became a large-scale history lesson in how the label has evolved from those early MiniDisc days. Twenty Years Away, as it's titled, moves from the label's experimental electronica roots to our electro-acoustic leanings and our more current penchant for heartfelt widescreen ambient. The collection seemed to shape itself as artists submitted their tracks. Maybe a testament to the n5MD "sound," but probably just luck. It seemed to flow in such an organic way. It has become a wonderful musical escape for me in these tumultuous times, and feel it a testament to the legacy of n5MD.

The basic concept for Twenty Years Away was to celebrate such a milestone in the label's history; however, I wanted to do something more by contributing all proceeds to a cause that is close to us at n5MD. For many years now, quietly, n5MD has been donating to the Cystinosis Research Foundation. Cystinosis is an extremely rare genetic disease. A lesser-known affliction in that there are only 500 patients in the United States alone, meaning that awareness and funding are scant. I found out about Cystinosis through Clay Emerson of Loess as his daughter Brooke was born with the disease. Clay and his wife Jill have to administer medications, sometimes hourly, to keep Brooke comfortable, and every year around the time, n5MD donates; I am hopeful that this will be the last time I will need to contribute as a cure will be found. I know some positive results in stemcell transplants were recently attempted, so my outlook is hopeful that Brooke will eventually have a more normal life. Uncertainty for Clay and Jill, and parents of other Cystinosis patients, will be a thing of the past. That is my hope. I want to thank everyone who purchases this momentous collection as the proceeds will go to something intensely personal to us.

n5MD would not have been possible this long without many people's assistance and advice (You know who you are). It's been a very gratifying endeavor, and I could not have done it without the artists who have made the label what it is. And then there's you... If you've read this far, I want to thank you personally for listening then, now, or always.

Moving forward, I'll do my best to approach n5MD with the normalcy that you might expect from it—trying my very best not to be tone-deaf to the swirling madness around us but only to provide much-needed solace and escape. I feel we need our brand of "heart to hands" emotional resonance more than ever.